Henri francois louis aumont



(No Model.) I I H. F. L. 'AUMONT. PROGESS 0F INLAYING METAL GOODS WITHTORTOISE SHELL 0R GELLULOIDE Patented '1)e0. 11,1894.

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WITNESSES. I

A TTOHNE Y5 tortiseshell or celluloid,

ertures in which it is placed, in such manner UNrrnn STATES PATENTOrr-ice.

HENRI FRANcoIsLoUIs AUMONT, or LONDON, ENGLAND.

PROCESS OF lNLAYlNG METAL GOODS SPECIFICATION forming part; of Letters 2Application filed September 12, 1894. Serial No. 522,803.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRI FRANCOIS LOUIS AUMONT, goldsmith, of 7Oarlisle Street, Soho Square, London, W., England, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Processes of Inlaying Metal Goods withTortoise-Shell or Celluloid, (for which I have obtained Letters Patentin France, dated March 5, 1894., No. 236,758,) of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to the inlaying with of watch-cases, jewelry,ornaments, photographframes, cigarcases, and other fancy goods made ofgold, silver, or other metal.

The object of the invention is to produce a transparent, enamel-likeeffect, whether the article inlaid be viewed by reflected or transmittedlight.

The invention consists essentially in the mode whereby the tortoiseshellor celluloid is firmly secured in through or unbacked apertures in theplate of metal, without the use of cement, or of any apparent means ofretaining the inlaid material, which although flush with'the two facesof the metal plate is caused to interlock with the edges of the apthatit is securely retained therein.

The invention is illustrated in the accom panying drawings, merely byway of example, as applied to a photograph-frame, but it will be evidentthat the nature of the article and the character of the design may bevaried indefinitely.

Figure l is a face view of a photographframe having a design inlaidtherein, in ac cordance with the method of my invention. Fig. 2 is across-section of the metal plate, through one of the apertures. Fig. 3is a similar section, with the piece to be inlaid placed in the apertureready to be pressed, and Fig. 4 is a similar section, showing how theinlaid piece is secured. Figs. 5, 6, and 7,show modifications of theform of the groove in which the inlaid material becomes embedded. Figs.8, and 9, show how the interlocking of the inlaid material with themetal plate is effected in the case of plates which are so thin thatthey cannot be conveniently grooved.- All these figures are drawn to amagnified scale, and the same letters of "reference indi- WITHTORTOlSE-SHELL OR CELLULOlD.

(No spe0imens-) Patented in France March 5, 1894, No. 236,758-

b is the plate of metal in which'apertures a are cut or stamped in theordinary way, in accordance with any floral or other ornamental design.These apertures are prepared to receive and hold the pieces of inlaidmaterial either by having a groove 0 cut in the thick ness of the edgeof each aperture, as in Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, or by having theedges beveled, as in Figs. 8 and 9. The groove c-would be cut by meansof a burin or graving tool and should be about one or two millimeters indepth and it would extend entirely around the aperture so as to form akind of bezel to hold the piece of inlaid material in the manner of awatch glass. The groove may either be V-shaped in profile, as in Figs.2,3, and 4:, or it may be of rectangular section, as shown in Fig. 5, orthe edges of the aperture may be hollowed or grooved over the wholethickness of the plate, as in Fig. 6. With either of the forms of grooveshown in Figs. 2 to 5,'the arrises of the metal may beveled off on bothfaces of the plate, as shown in Fig. 7, so that a double bond of theinlaid material with the metal will be obtained, this form ofinterlocking being a combination of the groove before described and thebeveled form shown in Fig. 8. In this latter case the edge of theaperture instead of being grooved is oppositely beveled, asin Fig. 8, orrounded, as in Fig. 9, so that the relative forms of the metal and. theinlaid material are reversed, the groove being virtually formed in theinlaid material instead .of in the metal, theinterlocking connectionbeing the same in both cases.

The method of inlaying is as follows:The

tortoiseshell'or celluloid is of greater th'ickness than the metal plate(say one and onehalf to twice the thickness) and is cut in pieces (1corresponding in shape to, and just large enoughto enter, the aperturesa in the metal plate I). All the apertures of the design having beenthus filled with the pieces of tortoiseshell or celluloid jected to heatand pressure between two blocks f f of gun metalso as to thereby softenthe pieces of inlaid material, compress them until they are but littlethicker than the metal plate, and cause them to expand laterally so thattheir edges become squeezed into the cate the same parts in all of them.

grooves c, as shown in Fig. 4, or become interlocked with the bevelededges, as shown d, the plate is subin Fig. 8. This pressure must bemaintained until the whole has become cold, so that the interlocking ofthe inlaid material and metal may be permanent. The thin film of theinlaid material which has become squeezed out and spread over thesurfaces of the plate I) is then filed off until the inlaid material isflush with the metal, as shown in Figs. 4 to 9. The whole is thenpolished, and the inlaid material may then be engraved or carved toheighten the effect.

The heat required for the pressing operation must be suificient tosoften, but not to burn, the inlaid material and the heated gun metalpressure blocks must be coated with a strong solution of sea-salt beforethe work to be pressed is applied between them or layers of cloth soakedwith sea water may be applied between the pressure blocks and the work,the object being to prevent the discoloration of the inlaid material.

I claim- 1. The herein described mode of inlaying metal goods withtortoiseshell or celluloid,

which consists in squeezing the pieces of material to be inlaid, whensoftened by heat, into interlocking engagement with the grooved orbeveled edges of through apertures in the metal, maintaining thepressure until the work is cold, and then removing any superficialexcess of the inlaid material,'substantially in the manner described.

2. A plate of metal having pieces of tortoiseshell or celluloid inlaidin it by being squeezed, under the combined eifect of heat and pressure,into interlocking engagement with the edges of through apertures in theplate, substantially as specified. a

Signed by me, the said HENRI FRANCOIS LOUIS AUMONT.

HENRI FRANCOIS LOUIS AUMON'I.

England.

